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loaning out the big wrenches

08-05-2012, 09:49 PM

so a local plumber i met last year calls me if i had any wrenches for 4'' pipe. of course i do. i put them in the truck for him and he picked them up today/ sunday. told him no cheaters as i don't want them marred or damaged. all he needs to do is back off a leaking 4'' x 2'' bell reducer at the gas meter and dope it up. this is for a house in the hollywood hills.

he said that if i ever need anything, his shop is just 3/4 of a mile away. i turn to joey with a smile and ask him, what he has that i might not have his come back was an acrylic 60x 30'' tub told him next time i need 1 in an emergency on a sunday, i'll give him a call

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Walked into supplier here some many years ago. 4' steel stillson standing there, BRAND NEW with crack down from head. Asked the question, answer -D 9er with snatch chain. Totally buggered. Solution > Ridgid air-freight new pair immediately to replace, I believe some 5k ++++ at the time. Gotta give it to Ridgid, great backup service. And I believe they replaced under warranty. mind you it was the big Australian at the time, BHP. Talk about cheater bar, snatch chain beats that one wouldnt you say...........!!!!

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I have used 2" X 5' long pipe cheaters many times on 24" wrenches. Those were the biggest I carried on the Rig. I once put a 36" Ridgid on a 4" well we were drilling to turn the pipe. I also used the 2" X 5' cheater with a chain around the end hooked to the front bumper of my truck. The pipe didn't turn, but when the chain broke, I never found the short piece of chain that was on the 2" pipe.

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I have used 2" X 5' long pipe cheaters many times on 24" wrenches. Those were the biggest I carried on the Rig. I once put a 36" Ridgid on a 4" well we were drilling to turn the pipe. I also used the 2" X 5' cheater with a chain around the end hooked to the front bumper of my truck. The pipe didn't turn, but when the chain broke, I never found the short piece of chain that was on the 2" pipe.

Bit spooky.....!!! Mind you it goes to show how good Ridgid tools really are. Pity our Rep doesnt understand good stories like these when he represents the Company here.
As a footnote - isnt it ironic how ridgid make the tools and tell us how to use them and yet we as typical Plumbers go out of our way to push the bar beyond the limit sometimes to prove that their tools are actually better than they even thought. Only had a few failures in over thirty years and they were manufacturing faults which you basically cop sweet.
GO RIDGID TOOLS.................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I used a 5' ci ridgid wrench last week on an 8" fire line repair. The nipple tightened with the weight of the wrench alone. When we cut out the old section, the flanged backflow preventer rose 1". The installer must have used some leverage to get the flanges to line up. I wound up using two 11 degree grooved bends to offset the misalignment.

Comment

I used a 5' ci ridgid wrench last week on an 8" fire line repair. The nipple tightened with the weight of the wrench alone. When we cut out the old section, the flanged backflow preventer rose 1". The installer must have used some leverage to get the flanges to line up. I wound up using two 11 degree grooved bends to offset the misalignment.

Makes you wonder what the tension is doing to the installation. Amazing how some guys think they can stretch the pipes to align. I was not taught but learned through experience to try to minimise any effect on the pipe installation. Same as thinking about materials and aother considerations.